Professional JavaScript for Web Developers (Wrox Professional Guides) (Paperback)

by Nicholas C. Zakas (Author) "Around 1992, a company called Nombas began developing an embedded scripting language called C-minus-minus (Cmm for short)..." (more)
Key Phrases: constructor paradigm, node type cannot, millisecond representation, Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Netscape Communicator (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
* Dispels the myth that JavaScript is a "baby" language and demonstrates why it is the scripting language of choice used in the design of millions of Web pages and server-side applications
* Quickly covers JavaScript basics and then moves on to more advanced topics such as object-oriented programming, XML, Web services, and remote scripting
* Addresses the many issues that Web application developers face, including internationalization, security, privacy, optimization, intellectual property issues, and obfuscation
* Builds on the reader's basic understanding of HTML, CSS, and the Web in general

This book is also available as part of the 4-book JavaScript and Ajax Wrox Box (ISBN: 0470227818). This 4-book set includes:

• Professional JavaScript for Web Developers (ISBN: 0764579088)
• Professional Ajax 2nd edition (ISBN: 0470109491)
• Professional Web 2.0 Programming (ISBN: 0470087889)
• Professional Rich Internet Applications: Ajax and Beyond (ISBN: 0470082801)

From the Back Cover
Professional JavaScript for Web Developers

JavaScript is an important feature of every major browser because it enables enhanced user interaction on both Web sites and Web applications. While exploring everything from its history to today's advanced features, this book shows you how to use this powerful language to its full potential in order to develop your own applications that solve the business problems facing Web developers today.

You'll gain a clear understanding of the components that make up a JavaScript implementation, plus you'll examine critical areas including events, regular expressions, and browser detection techniques so that you can build dynamic user interfaces. You'll also learn how to extend the language to meet your specific requirements as well as create seamless client-server communication without intermediaries such as Java or hidden frames.

What you will learn from this book

• ECMAScript basics, object-oriented programming techniques, and important Document Object Model (DOM) concepts
• How to implement regular expressions for data validation and string manipulation
• Methods for handling events to tie JavaScript to a Web user interface
• Techniques for validating data, sorting tables, and dealing with errors
• How to communicate between JavaScript and browser plugins
• All about security issues, optimization, and intellectual property protections

Who this book is for

This book is for Web developers who want to use JavaScript to dramatically improve the usability of their Web sites and Web applications.

Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Wrox; 1 edition (April 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764579088
• ISBN-13: 978-0764579080
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #270,068 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For Intermediate and Advanced Programmers, May 16, 2005

By	John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The key to knowing about this book is the word "Professional" in the title. There are other books aimed at the complete beginner that will start off with a much simpler "Here's How" approach to get you started. This book instead starts off with the history, the basic ECMAScript standards and a discussion on the Object nature of JavaScript. It's written by a working programmer to fill the real world needs of other working programmers. It does this job very well.

Further, the book is new and up to date. JavaScript is an evolving language as the web grows to demand increasing capabilities. Some of these features that now get full chapters in this book include: XML, Client-Server communications, Web Services, interacting with Plug-Ins.

The last chapter talks about the next step in the development of JavaScript, with cautions that this material is still preliminary and subject to change.

Excellent book for the intermediate to advanced JavaScript programmer.

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The most current coverage of JavaScript to date, June 6, 2005

By	Foti Massimo (Vezia (Switzerland)) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Many poor quality books on this topic had been published along the years, helping JavaScript into becoming the less understood programming languages of all time. It's nice to see how finally there is another JavaScript book worth reading apart from the classic titles by Goodman and Flanagan. The book is not aimed at beginners; you either have some solid JavaScript knowledge or a decent programming experience with other languages. Compared to other titles this stands out for the chapters covering modern techniques: DOM, Client-Server Communication, XML/XSLT, and Web Services. I would say it's the most current coverage of JavaScript to date. In my own opinion, only some poor editing and organisation prevent it from reaching five stars.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific book on modern, multi-browser Javascript, November 2, 2005

By	Michael Shaffer (Littleton, CO United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I don't get the negative reviews that are splattered around here. The positive reviews are dead on: this is a great book. It is probably the most advanced, most modern application of Javascript ever written. I'm not speaking too far out of line since I'm fairly certain that I've bought and read them all. Javascript has been viewed as a toy or a fun little scripting language but not one that serious developers use. The author takes great care in completely debunking this theory by demonstrating advanced and useful techniques that push Javascript to the edge, without forcing it to do unnatural things. It's also extremely honest and forward about Javascript's limitations. I also appreciated the complete non-biased presentation of the multiple browsers and their slightly varied approaches to implementing Javascript. Previously, advanced Javascript books (and there weren't many!) focused on IE/JScript only but now there is a legitimate force out there not using IE! I'm am anxiously waiting for his follow-up book on AJAX technologies. Both Javascript and AJAX are hardly new, but Zakas does a commendable job here bringing browser based client side scripting into the 21st century.

I teach a Jr/Sr High programming class and we use Javascript as the language and this book as the text. Students develop using OOP patterns and practice good solid design -- which Javascript allows. Not a teacher by trade, my day job is developing client technologies and user interfaces for the financial sector.